Deuteronomy 8:2
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Didn’t God know what Israel would do?
PROBLEM: This passage says that God led Israel into the wilderness in order “to know” what they would do. But if God knows everything already (Psalms 139:7-10; Jeremiah 17:10), then why did He need to do this to know whether they would obey Him?
SOLUTION: God in His omniscience was already aware of what they would do. He led them into the wilderness in order to prove them. The parallel expression in this very verse is to “test you, to know what was in your heart.” (See also discussion under Genesis 22:12)